fusilli
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of fusilli
First recorded in 1925–30; from southern Italian dialect, plural of fusillo “little spindle,” diminutive of fuso, from Latin fūsus “spindle”; cf. fuse 1 ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
CAMPOBASSO, Italy—Your favorite Italian-origin fusilli and macaroni are poised to disappear from U.S. supermarket shelves.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 10, 2025
Right now, I’m really obsessed with weird, textured shapes, so I love fusilli.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 30, 2023
Naturally, I expanded my pasta library in those longs months without bucatini, via long fusilli bucati resembling impeccably permed ringlets, fat ribbons of pappardelle, ruffled campanelle bells and coarse-edged, slow-cooking pici.
From Salon • May 17, 2022
The dinner menu includes family recipes, like Nonna’s genovese ragù with fusilli grosso, and popular Italian fare like meatballs, fried artichokes, Caesar salad, spaghetti with clams, eggplant parm and chicken Milanese.
From New York Times • May 10, 2022
Variation: Chicken Minestrone Add 1 cup chopped stewed tomatoes in their juice and 2 cups cooked, drained fusilli or other pasta and 1/2-cup cooked kidney beans when adding zucchini and potatoes.
From The Perdue Chicken Cookbook by Perdue, Mitzi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
